The Menagerie's Mistress
by Vayne359
Summary: A wandering circus. A lonely girl. A chance rescue. So begin's Velvet Crowe's journey with a traveling circus, but the head of it all is certainly a strange one to say the least.
1. Caught and Alone

**Vayne: Hey there. So a couple things. First I've found some new inspiration, thanks to playing Tales of Berseria as you can probably tell right now. After all you clicked on the story! I'm planning on getting back into writing, now that I also have a solid job I actually love and will be having a stable income.  
However, like how playing the same game time and again weighs on you, I fear I may not be working on my former Elsword stories for a while. I hope you, my older readers, will understand. To end, please understand that any clear changes in canon will be for alternative universe purposes.**

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The Menagerie's Mistress

Chapter One: Caught and Alone

The land was in balance. Daemons roamed the land as they always have, but under the leadership of Shepard Artorius the Exorcists with their Malakhim allies and the Empyrean Innominat protect the land and its people from the threat. However as the power of worthy resonance is few many places live in fear of attacks even with only meager protection. This is where our story begins, as loaded wagons and horses lumber down the road. They were a traveling circus known as Magilou's Menagerie whose goal was to ease the pain of the downtrodden and scared. However as with any good deed, sour rumors hounded them. Rumors spread that portrayed the leader, Magilou Mayvin, was a devious witch intent on drawing in subjects to experiment on.

Whether true or false one fact was evident among all they visited. A grand time of magic and amazement, a distraction from their problems, and a welcoming environment.

"Hey." Inside a more intriguingly decorated wagon, Magilou sat at her vanity combing her hair. Sitting in a little bed beside her was a little Malak named Bienfu. The cat like spirit tilted his head.

"Is something the matter Miss Magilou?" He asked.

"How much longer?" She said, not looking away from her mirror.

"Uuh…" Bienfu looked out the window. The autumn trees of Eastgand did look lovely this time of year, but he couldn't see their destination through the thicket, "I dunno. Everything looks the same around here!"

"Ugh, why must this village, home of none other than the high and mighty Shepard, be so far in the middle of nowhere!?" Magilou sighed overdramatically, "But I shall persevere! Why the revenue for such a place is utterly delicious! Magilou's Menagerie shall be the ones to give the Shepard's home a show they'll never forget!" Bienfu sighed as Magilou continued to inspire no one but herself. He was fine working with her, but not when she used him as a punching bag both physically and emotionally, but despite her skill Magilou often got a bit carried away with her praises.

"Oh!" Bienfu perked up a bit as a gate came into view, "Miss Magilou we're here!"

"Ah, perfect!" She clenched a fist, "Enjoy your peace while it lasts my sweets, for Magilou has arrived!"

"You sound like we're going to burn the village down…" Bienfu mumbled.

"Oh?" The hatted Malak froze like a board as the witch walked up to him, having heard his little remark. She grinned malevolently as she drove a finger harshly into his cheek, "And who's to say it isn't part of our lovely act?"

"Bieeeeeeeen!" He wailed as the head of the convoy entered the small village.

Meanwhile inside the village there was a house on the outskirts. Along a small pathway it stood lonely just like the person within. Sitting dully at a table, poking at the remains of her breakfast, a young girl with pure black hair braided into a single tail dwelt alone. Her amber eyes dulled and bored.

"I wonder how Arthur is doing…" She mumbled. Few outside the town of Aball would know or believe it but this young, plain woman was the former apprentice and sister-in-law to Shepard Artorius. He joined their family some thirteen years ago when he married her deceased elder sister Celica. After the Advent three years ago she was left all alone, understanding the sacrifice her sick brother Laphicet chose to make of his free will to help Artorius protect the world. She missed him dearly, someday so much she would do little but sob in bed, but it was because of his sacrifice that Malakhim became visible to all, and resonance within people allowed them to form pacts with the spirits to battle the Daemon threat.

Looking around the empty home she sighed at the pleasant memories that dwelt there. Velvet rose and headed outside for some air before the nostalgia made her teary again. Making sure not to look at the graves of her sister and unborn child Velvet headed down the path to the main village. She was rather surprised to see a convoy of caravans lining the central yard. Niko, her read-headed childhood friend, spotted her and ran over.

"Velvet!" She smiled, giving her a quick hug.

"Niko? What's all this?" Velvet asked in confusion.

"It's a wandering circus! Apparently they came to do a performance outside the gates!" Niko was jumping with joy.

"Oh, that's okay." Velvet shrugged, "I guess."

"Oh lighten up, I'm sure they'll be great!"

"I don't have any spare Gald to go see anyways." The somber girl sighed. She had to save for food and emergencies. It wouldn't do Artorius or Laphicet's sacrifice much good if she died from starvation.

"Well…if you insist…" Niko sighed, she could tell Velvet was in one of her moods again today and it was better not to fight it, "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, have fun at the show." Velvet worked at a decent smile which was enough for Niko. With her pair of timid dogs in tow she headed off to the main gates. Sighing yet again Velvet headed out for the cape. She wanted to at least gather some Princessias for the graves with what little she had been doing of late.

The falling orange leaves crunched beneath Velvet's feet as she headed for the shrine. It was not a happy place by any means but it was the only place she could gather her sister's favorite flowers. Prickleboars foraged in the undergrowth but she wasn't out to hunt. In fact she wasn't even armed right now which in hindsight was probably a bad idea leaving the house. However there had been not a single daemon sighting, or even a Malak, around Aball for months now.

"I wonder why that is. Nothing really special about this place since Innominat woke up." Velvet sighed. The shrine wasn't too far off as she left the forest. The somber air around her latched to her thoughts like a tick she didn't even bother to attempt to remove, instead beginning to search a patch of Princessias for suitable flowers. Velvet hummed a little tune to herself as she browsed the flowers and soon had a small handful of them. But as she turned to head home she yelped.

Stumbling backwards from the lumbering creature before her Velvet was gripped with fear. A werewolf. Weapon or no Velvet was just a simple girl with no power to fight against it.

" _Control your feelings to control the tide of battle."_

Acting on instinct from Athur's maxims she rolled to the side just in time as the daemon lunged forward, shredding through the patch of Princessias. She couldn't fight it but where would she run? The village had no exorcists stationed there; it would be a slaughter. She was helpless.

"One for the many…I hope." Velvet whispered to herself, only praying that once it had his fill the daemon would leave the village be. With a savage howl the beast jumped at her and Velvet clenched her eyes shut as she held her batch of flowers to her chest, ready to see her sister again.

A flash of great heat washed past her followed by the agonized howl of the wolf. Opening her eyes she saw the beast flailing on the ground coated in flames. She looked around for her savior and saw a peculiarly dressed woman standing at the entrance to the forest.

"Honestly girl, you should know better than to waltz around on your lonesome." She said, a doll like card dancing at her fingers. Looking back to the daemon Velvet was relieved to see it no longer moving, the flames silently vanishing spot by spot.

"T-Thank you miss." Velvet bowed to the stranger.

"My, what a respectful little thing you are. Just as well you didn't end up as puppy chow." She laughed nonchalantly. Velvet noticed now a little cat like creature wearing a hat standing next to her.

"A…malak? Are you an exorcist?" The dark haired maiden inquired.

"Nay!" The woman declared abruptly, "I am the wandering witch and Magnificent Magilou!"

"A….witch?" That seemed a little hard to believe. Regardless this woman had a Malak and just saved her life, "I suppose I should repay you…but I don't have anything."

"Well if you haven't a Gald to your name I suppose your body will have to do!"

"H-Huh?" Velvet was taken back at her words.

"You shall now become a part of Magilou's Menagerie as we travel the land!"

"Bien! I thought we came to entertain the town, not abduct it!" The hatted Malak cried, only to be kicked away by the girl's heel, "Bieeeeen!"

"I-If you say so…" Velvet blushed. She didn't exactly have much reason to stay in Aball, and it could be a chance to see the world Arthur and Laphicet had worked so hard to protect.

"I do! Well, not much time to work you in right now so I suppose you'll just have to help out backstage during the show." Magilou shrugged as she turned around and headed back to the forest, hands behind her head in a carefree manner. Not wanting to risk being attacked again and now in servitude, as odd as that sounded in her head, Velvet hurried after her. Meanwhile the hatted Malak floated beside her.

"You know, you don't really have to listen to miss Magilou." He said sympathetically.

"I kind of owe her my life now, and I'd like to see the world my brother and Arthur have worked so hard to save."

"Oh you have family in the Abbey?" He probed.

"Yeah, but…just one." She sighed.

"Well I'm sure he's doing a great job!" The little Malak smiled happily, changing topics, "By the way, I'm Bienfu, nice to meet you!"

"Thanks Bienfu. My name's Velvet, Velvet Crowe." She tilted her head at him, "I've never seen something like you before."

"Oh, I'm a Normin! A race of Malak." He explained, "I just happened to end up making a pact with Miss Magilou." Bienfu seemed sufficiently more grim at that, seemed it was a bit one sided.

"Well…I bet Niko will be surprised to hear about all this."

"Alas the hour grows nigh! Come Bienfu, let us whisk this town off their feet!" Magilou dramatically called for her Malak, who sighed and floated off. Velvet stood there for a moment before continuing to the village; what an odd pair.


	2. Shape Up, Eat Up

Chapter Two: Shape Up, Eat Up.

"Wow, that was pretty cool." Velvet said to herself as she watched the closing act of the show. Magilou and her band certainly gave off an odd vibe but were no joke when it came to performance. Magilou ran a great comedy skit with Bienfu, who seemed to really enjoy himself, and even pulled a whole baby Rappig out of a small hat. One of the other performers had a trained snake involved in a hypnosis act that Niko volunteered for. It was quite a surprise for her when the solid gold and jewel necklace she was to be wearing seemingly changed into a snake at least from her point of view. Heading back to the wagon circle behind the stage she noticed a young man standing at a table.

"Ow, damn it!" He yanked his hand to the side and Velvet saw he had cut himself.

"Are you okay?" She hurried over and saw he was, well trying, to cut some carrots with a rather dirtied knife, "What are you doing?"

"What I wish I wasn't." He mumbled, "Signed on for the manual labor. You know, setting the stage up each show, running posters through cities, but apparently Miss Magilou made me the chef even though I can barely boil an egg." As he wrapped up his finger Velvet looked in sheer disgust at the cooking area. The pots were banged and rusted, the knives hardly washed and utterly dull in some spots.

"Ah, another successful show!" Velvet turned to see Magilou walking out of the back of the stage.

"What is this?!" Velvet demanded abruptly, putting a stumble into the witch's step, "How can you make food with these tools?! These pots are ruined, even if you tried you couldn't get all this rust off! Someone will get sick!"

"Uh, what?" Magilou was honestly taken aback by the girl's sudden outburst.

"That's it. This man can do what he signed on to do, I'll do the cooking myself! Now if you'll excuse me," Velvet started walking to the village, "I need to get my things."

"Oh I'll help Velvet!" Bienfu floated up to her happily.

"Thank you Bienfu, but are you sure? It'll be a bit heavy." They talked as they headed back to the village. Magilou smiled as she recovered from her aftershock.

"Got some spunk in you girl, I like it."

Back at her home Velvet carefully placed her knives in a padded box. After that she stacked her pans and pots in a larger crate along with the utensils and her cook books. She had her recipes memorized but it never hurt to be safe.

"Wow, you have a big place!" Bienfu was looking about, surely it was a bit big for just one person.

"Yeah, but I'm the only one left now." She sighed, "It surely wouldn't kill him to come visit now and again…" Shaking her head Velvet handed the locked box of knives to Bienfu, "You can carry this, it's lighter but be careful not to shake it."

"You got it Miss Velvet!" He saluted before taking the handle and floating with it. Standing by the door Velvet took one last look at her home before heading out as it would be the last time she'd see it for a while. Turning and opening the door she came face to face with Niko.

"Oh! Velvet!" She was surprised, "What's with the boxes? And isn't that the little Malak from the show?"

"Hi! Glad you enjoyed it!" Bienfu smiled.

"Oh, uh, I felt like…trying something new." Velvet lied awkwardly, "Gonna, cook for the circus while they travel."

"Wow! That's awesome!" Niko hugged her, "You better come back to visit so you can tell me all about the places you get to go to."

"Y-Yeah, I will. If I get the chance." She chuckled.

"Then write me!" The cheery red-head clapped her hands together.

"I will. But we should get going." Velvet said as she hoisted the crate off the floor, "Everyone's waiting on us."

"See you next time!" Bienfu waved as they headed back to the convoy.

"Oog…." Velvet groaned, leaning over the side of the ship.

"Hey, you okay?" One of the crewmen came up to her. He smiled casually as he saw her face, "First time on a boat?"

"Y-Yeah…" And with that Velvet couldn't hold her stomach anymore and hurled over the side of the ship. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You should stay near the center of the boat. It's more stable. Some ginger can help too, can ask our chef below decks for some."

"Does that work?" She was a bit dubious.

"Yeah, yeah, I know it sounds weird. We aren't the first sailors to use them though."

"Thanks…" Thinking it best to try his suggestions before losing more of her breakfast Velvet headed, slowly, below decks to the mess hall of the ship. After asking the chef for some ginger, getting a small bowl of it with a reassuring smile, she had a seat at as close to the center of the ship as she could manage.

"Well, early lunch?" Velvet looked up at Magilou, accompanied by Bienfu.

"Sea sick…" Velvet groaned, taking a bite from the ginger root.

"Eh, you get used to it." Magilou sat down nonchalantly.

"How is that possible?" Velvet hadn't felt this bad before in her life. Her guts were churning like bad fish.

"Well, you better at least." The witch snickered, a hand placed coyly to her chin, "After all, we have to go by boat a lot to reach our venues."

"Ugh…" Velvet sighed.

"Don't worry, it'll get better!" Bienfu cheered her on. He was so energetic, and rather cute.

"Thanks Bienfu." She smiled; that made her feel a bit better.

"This is even worse!" Velvet shuddered inside Magilou's carriage, at her offer. She would have liked to know beforehand that their next stop was Northgand of all places where the snow could make ice water cry. One of the other workers had given her a fur coat but even that wasn't helping much.

"Oh, did that slip my mind?" Magilou snickered.

"I hear there's hot springs at the inn we'll be staying at!" Bienfu said to give her something to look forward to.

"That sounds wonderful right about now." She felt like a Popsicle.

"Still, it'll be all worth it for a good performance!" Magilou grinned the grin of a greedy woman.

"Say…Magilou?" Velvet asked as she rubbed her arms, "What made you make a wandering circus?"

"Who knows? Just felt like it." She said evasively, leaning back in her seat.

"Well that sounds like a rather large investment just because 'you felt like it'." Velvet raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Oh why shouldn't I journey the land brining merriment to all? Do I need a reason? Some heart rending tale of woe?" Magilou dramatically questioned her motives.

"N-No I guess not." Velvet mumbled.

"Why question a good thing? People are happy, and we get paid." She smiled again.

"Y-Yeah you're right, I'm sorry." Velvet apologized. She was so…unknown. She couldn't quite figure Magilou out and was sure everyone else was the same way.

"Hey we're here!" A voice came from outside.

"Oh thank heavens." Velvet exhaled, getting up and heading outside. As she stepped out into the cold the moment her foot hit the floor she lost her balance on a slip of ice, "Ah!"

"Oh!" She felt someone grab her arm and hold her steady. After being helped upright she looked at the stranger. It was a young woman with reddish-pink hair and green eyes. Her garb was a theme of white and blue with some yellow trim, a short but rather wide dress and high boots. Her gentle eyes looked at her with concern, "Are you okay miss?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for catching me." The raven haired girl thanked.

"Please, don't mention it. As an Exorcist it's my job to help the people."

"An Exorcist?" Velvet blinked. With pride the girl saluted and stood straight.

"Exorcist Praetor Eleanor Hume, a pleasure to meet you." She smiled.

"A Praetor, isn't that one of the highest ranks?" Velvet was very impressed.

"Yes but," Eleanor pressed her fingers together, "Out of the Praetor's I'm not the highest."

"There's other ranks?" Velvet didn't exactly know much about the Abbey's functions, even though her brother-in-law was the Shepard.

"Yes. The exorcist Praetors are composed of three main rankings. The lowest, Primus, is my rank. Above that are Consul Praetors, with exemplary skills in both combat, artes, and leadership ability. The town you no doubt passed through, Hellawes, is under the administration of one, Teresa Linares."

"I was a bit preoccupied with sea sickness to notice…" Velvet sighed, it would have been interesting to meet her.

"Just as well, Teresa is a bit…cold when it comes to her work." Eleanor chuckled, "But she means well. Above a Consul is the highest rank second only to Shepard Artorius himself, a Legate."

"I see. It must be hard being an exorcist." Velvet was rather fond of the Praetor in the short time they'd met.

"Indeed, but we all work as one for the betterment and protection of the common citizen." She sighed, "And on that note I fear I must depart. A band of Daemons have been causing much trouble on the roads of late and I must track them down."

"I hope you succeed, be careful. I'd love to get to know you." Velvet smiled. A slight tinge of red crossed the Exorcist's face.

"T-Thank you. I'd like that to, you seem like a very nice young lady." She bowed, "Enjoy your stay, and be safe."

As the exorcist walked away, Magilou came up to her.

"Soooo, the fancy ones are your type eh?" She coyly teased.

"E-Eh?!" Velvet felt her face flush with red, a heat uncomfortable in the cold, "N-No I was just having a normal conversation!"

"If you say so, it certainly seemed like you were." Magilou commented with a smirk.

"Grrr…" Velvet grumbled.

"Oh I'm just teasing." Magilou laughed, "Now come on, we've got to set up and stock up for the show!" With a turn on her heel the witch headed for the inn. In her discomfort from sea and snow Velvet had nearly forgotten that she was unaware of the state of the circus's food stores. She went to check and found that there was a good selection of meats, fruits, and vegetables but they were low on a few things. She also noted there weren't much spices to be seen. Making her mental shopping list she headed to the local grocer to see what she could gather.

Velvet smiled to herself as she stirred a hearty stew while the other carnies pulled down the stage. They were all so talented. Since it was so uncomfortably cold she wanted to make a good first impression for a meal and went with a hot beef stew. Some potatoes, carrots, and salt and it was a balanced meal for a cold day.

"Hey Miss Velvet!" She looked to the side to see Bienfu had come to visit.

"Hello Bienfu. I loved your comedy act with Magilou." The chef smiled.

"If there's one wavelength me and Miss Magilou see eye to eye on, it's our comedy!" He seemed rather proud of himself. Bienfu was so full of energy Velvet enjoyed his company.

"Say, mind tasting this?" She scooped up some stew from the pot and offered it to him. He sniffed it first, blew on it a bit, then gulped it down.

"Wow!" He yelped.

"W-What is it? Too hot?" Velvet hoped she hadn't burnt his tongue.

"This is amazing!" He bounced up and down, "The meat's so tender and the potatoes mush in your mouth!"

"Oh, it's nothing special." Velvet blushed at his praise.

"I think it is! I know the others are gonna love it!" He said adamantly. Velvet smiled and returned to her work. She wasn't a performer or magician but she could at least keep everyone healthy and fit.


End file.
